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Scribd

When I was 20 and planning on studying abroad, I needed to make
the most money I could the summer before.

I was self-aware enough to know I wasn't fast enough at running
or counting to try my luck at the casino, so I turned to the next
best thing: construction work.

For six days a week over four months, I showed up to the
construction site at 6 a.m. in my brother’s jeans and a hard hat
and didn’t leave until well after 6 p.m.

Less than 10 minutes into the first day, I realized that this
summer would be an enormous waste of brain power if I spent over
1,000 hours of my life literally watching paint dry.

The next day, I came to work with a free
30-day trial to Scribd, a subscription service that
gives you access to hundreds of thousands of books, audiobooks,
news and magazines, and sheet music for $8.99 a month. You can
access it on your computer or phone, and you can highlight, add
notes, bookmark, and listen without the internet by clicking
"Store Offline" in Saved Titles.

Scribd not only skyrocketed my interest in audiobooks,
but it actually made even the mind numbing routine of filling
tiny holes with putty feel well-spent and enjoyable.

I burned through books. One week I was crying in my protective
goggles listening to "Miracle in the
Andes" by Nando Parrado and Vince Rause, and the next I
was laughing out loud to "Yes
Please" by Amy Poehler and "Bad
Feminist" by Roxane Gay. If the book was really, really
good, I’d even listen to it when I got home, too — sticking one
ear out from the shower curtain so I didn't miss
anything. I finally read the classics because I didn’t
have to actually read the classics.

I read more in those four months than I had in the eight
prior, and my desire to consume books certainly didn’t go
away once the job ended. Scribd made me a voracious reader
again.

I kept my subscription for those months abroad and read books on
linguistics, the science of happiness, and anything else I could
think of. I got endless hours of enjoyment for less than what I’d
spend on a single meal. Long car rides and my hour-long commute
are things I look forward to now.

Audiobooks and books used to be completely unlimited, but the way
Scribd works now
isn’t very different: There are certain audiobooks that are
'unlimited' and others that cost one credit, which you get every
month. If you don’t use it that month, it’ll roll over for you
into the next one, letting you store up to three credits. You can
get additional credits for $12.99 each.

Scribd

The same goes for books: 150,000 titles are
accessible with a premium membership (and
yes they’re books you’ll actually want to read), and for
everything else, you’ll have three monthly book credits to
use as you please. Any book you use a monthly credit on will
remain accessible to you for as long as the title is available on
the app. Unfortunately, for now, it’s not possible to buy more
credits for e-books. Sheet music, on the other hand, is
completely accessible — no monthly credits necessary.

In addition to its large catalog of books, Scribd
also releases a batch of 'Scribd Selects' every month, which are
titles handpicked from a wide range of genres that won’t require
a monthly credit. If the book you want isn’t available, the team
seems very receptive to feedback and encourages you to send any
ideas/titles their way at feedback@scribd.com.

The fact that I could have access to all the greatest
minds, mysteries and stories for $8.99 a month was (and still is)
crazy to me.

A Scribd subscription is much cheaper than buying hard
copies of books (which has stopped bothering me thanks to
the convenience and cost), and it offers me more titles to read
and ways to consume them. It's probably the best buy
I've made in the App Store.

If you love to read and are looking for a more convenient and
cost-effective way to do so, Scribd is definitely worth a
look.

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